


Luminary

by Setback



Series: Sentinels of the Multiverse - The Deck Collection [1]
Category: Sentinels of the Multiverse (Card Game)
Genre: Other, assume anyone could show up, but that would take too long, finally following through, he's so done with freedom five but they're good buddies now, i literally just remembered that tachyon is related to harpy and not unity, i'd tag the other characters, ivan is cool tho, luminary contains his innermost thoughts, really good letters page if you ask me, the start of something long and arduous, their deck will show up eventually, this is my canon now, what i make of them anyway, writing something based on something that doesn't exist is hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-28 08:33:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17179511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Setback/pseuds/Setback
Summary: The Luminary Deck





	1. Bared Blade

**Author's Note:**

> "I am certain that you are the best and the worst of wherever you are from. Come. Learn what this world has to offer." - Luminary, Scion Strike #4

A good strategist waits out the enemy, learns all that they can of their nature before striking.

Ivan’s had years of experience to ingrain this lesson into his being, years of disappointment and mistakes to instill the lesson of patience into his persona. Jumping ahead of himself had only earned him defeat at the hands of the Freedom Five time and time again until he couldn’t think straight. Until he made series upon series of preventable mistakes in the process of trying to prove himself right. 

So when the cloaked figure materializes in the hallway of the collapsing ruins when the group has moved ahead of him, Ivan stills himself and takes a moment to process. The synthetic material of his prosthetic hand crackles with energy as it forms into a blade.

But still, he waits. His mind knows the lesson that his body does not.

The figure doesn’t move either despite Ivan still having his back turned, looking over his shoulder to catch the form in the corner of his eye.

He could call for the others, play on the tentative alliance that has formed with the threat presented by Oblivaeon - though the being hasn’t shown itself quite yet, working through its damned scions to put the rest of the world on edge before the final battle. It’s given them all time to work on their teamwork after years of battling it out with one another.

Their current mission is one such way to make amends with one another. He’d likely be commended with trusting the group to answer his call for help. 

Ivan says nothing.

The Freedom Five could trudge along through the ruins without him. Ivan had always looked out for himself and the people of Mordengrad. It was all that he truly needed or cared about. The world could burn during the Oblivaeon event for all he cared as long as his people survived.

“Are you one of the scions?”

He’d yet to encounter one thus far, alone or with a group, but he’d been on the other end of the calls from other hero teams to Freedom Tower to report the results of their own encounters. How Dark Watch had nearly been shattered apart in the wake of Dark Mind’s attack. Extremely powerful, these scions. Able to change the reality of the world around them to fit the needs of their current master. 

Having one on their side could change the game. Having one on his side alone would mean everything. He wouldn’t have to devote a second thought to Mordengrad’s protection with one of them on the borders. He could quietly at that point, spend the rest of the world’s existence away in his own country. But the thought wasn’t feasible. As much as he loathed the realization, the band of heroes had grown on him like a mold, even the man he’d sworn to see of the end of if it took his dying breath to do so.

The figure still hasn’t spoken, leaving Ivan to his own thoughts. Neither confirming or denying its association with the scions.

He’d likely see the end of Legacy along with his dying breath if he continued to fight this fight. The thought is humorous in the macabre sense, but Ivan finds himself more and more willing to entertain the the reality of it the longer he spends around Freedom Tower.

It would be selfish of him to recruit the aid of this being for his own purposes when the rest of the world was at stake. The Five would understand in their own simpering ways, Legacy especially. 

“You had the weight of a country on your shoulders,” he can hear the man saying, projecting his do-good aura the entire time. “You put your people first.”

Ivan sneers at the hidden visage of the cloaked figure. He didn’t need the man’s excuses, imagined or otherwise. If the world was going to end, eventually Mordengrad would too - a scion’s protection would only go so far after the first wave. Delaying the end was a half measure when defeating Oblivaeon was still in the works, and if the world was going to end now - so would Mordengrad, but they’d go down fighting alongside the rest of the world rather than isolating themselves away.

Time doesn’t seem real now. It can’t have been too long, otherwise one of the Five would have doubled back around. He’d place his bet on the Wraith - weary of his motives, but she’s yet to arrive during his dive into his inner thoughts. And still no answer from the unidentified figure.

Ivan pauses, takes a deep breath and clenches his fist as the energy around his blade slowly fades away as the blade reforms back into a metallic hand that he uses to beckon the figure to follow him. He has an offer that he doesn’t know whether or not it will take, but it’s an offer made nonetheless. 

He was unlikely to bare his heart to the Freedom Five once he rejoined them, but they would have his blade as long as their was a greater threat.


	2. Backlash Generator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I learned a valuable lesson from you. There will always be someone to punch my inventions." - Luminary, Burying the Blade #7

Several mechanical orbs circle the outskirts of the training grounds as Legacy dodges a hail of energy blasts let loose by the mechanical contraption he’s been set up against to spar. Ivan strides around the room with a purpose, watching the battle with feigned interest as he checks on the floating orbs.

Paul takes a hit to the shoulder and digs his heels into the floor to keep his stance firm, casting a glance at the former villain. “Shouldn’t you be paying a little more attention?”

“I’m paying just the right amount of attention, Legacy. I suggest you keep your attention on your opponent.” Ivan rolls his eyes, flicking his synthetic hand to form a screwdriver with his index finger - withdrawing after he’d rifled through the device for a few moments.

Then it’s back to his patrolling of the outer ring towards the next orb.

He catches the smile forming on Legacy’s face from his peripheral vision and scoffs. The hero had gotten soft since the formation of a truce - uniting against the more pressing problem of a potential world-ending threat. There’d been some residual distrust in the first few days, but now Legacy was comfortable being in a room alone with Ivan and his latest inventions. 

Paul’s been grinning most of this training exercise, focusing more on the other man in the room than his opponent even after Ivan had made a snide comment about the sanctity of the man’s marriage. It’d only resulted in a hearty laugh in the midst of blocking an attack.

The hero’s lofty timbre breaks through Ivan’s concentration once more. “You’re the one that wanted me to spar with you. I kind of figured that you’d be watching.”

“I have devices to upkeep. If I have need for the review, I’ll ask Ms. Caspit for the footage. Less talking, more sparring please. You’ve yet to land a hit on your opponent.”

Paul grins again, ever the optimist. “I’ve got to hand you this one Ivan, the defense capabilities on this drone are off the charts.”

“Yes, well…” Ivan pauses, pushing up the goggles on his lenses, giving in to survey Legacy in his element. “I couldn’t have you destroying my work before the real work is finished.”

It was an ingenious idea, really. Years of going head to head with the Freedom Five had given Ivan the insight to realize just how he’d been bested - the easiest way through his defenses. It always came down to the devices he put between himself and any known threat. If his bots held, chances of success in his endeavors went up phenomenally. Given all this, it took very little thinking on his part to figure out a way to make fighting his devices more trouble than it was worth.

“What real work?”

“The beginning of the end, I’d say. Not for you of course. I’m not so in love with the idea of my own death that I’d hazard killing you in Freedom Tower surrounded by your allies.”

“They’re your allies now too, Ivan.”

“Focus, Legacy, or I’ll assume you’ve lost your edge.”

That’s all it takes. They share a smile at banter that’s become good-natured ribbing this late in the game. Not that Ivan would admit to it and he doesn’t have to once Paul turns his attention to the bot and readies himself for a real fight.

Ivan takes a step back, pushing his goggles back down to shield his eyes from the real show.  
It’s over far quicker than the start. Paul lands his hit straight to the bot’s chest and the thing crumples in on itself. Ivan doesn’t care for that. He’d maxed its reaction time so he could focus on his true intentions without distraction and the result is well worth the wait.

The trick to getting to him was getting through his mechanical defenses. And he could hold his own after that, but only for so long before he’d need to make a tactical retreat. The solution to stall that was far simply than he could have ever imagined. Devices to look out for his own devices and defend them when needed. The orbs spark to life immediately after Paul draws his hand back, an electric field sparking to life and surrounding the hero in the same instant that his mechanical opponent drops to the floor.

The current is too low to actually harm Paul, Ivan hadn’t been lying about his lack of a death wish. But it is enough to temporarily paralyze the man once the bots power down, no longer interested in their quarry now that he isn’t focused on one of their own.

The smile on Ivan’s face as he brings his hands together in a slow clap is genuine. “Thank you…Paul, for your participation. Consider it a lesson learned.”


	3. Hasten Victory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Can you feel it, heroes? With the brilliant Luminary at your side, success is within your reach!" - Luminary, Burying the Blade #7

It’s the end of the end, the way Ivan sees it.

They’ll either die fighting today or live to see the next time they were at one another’s throats. Ivan doesn’t know whether or not he wants to see that day. They’ve been fighting for a long time, against Oblivaeon and his scions. The injuries they’ve sustained during these month long fights have been insurmountable - the countless lives lost in the face of a far greater threat than anything he could invent in a long time.

He’s seen innocent people die. People that he wouldn’t have found himself caring for while he was caught up in his own schemes. Much as he doesn’t want to, he cares for them now. Ivan’s world has expanded beyond Mordengrad and the people that call it home.

More people call it home now. He’d opened its impenetrable borders to fleeing refugees once the collateral damage from surrounding areas became uninhabitable. They were being taken good care of now, safe within the reconfigured defense platforms that he’d started to build in bulk when he’d noticed the mounting danger. Other iterations were making themselves useful overseas, manned by the brave Mordengradians responsible for seeing that as many innocent lives were saved as possible without risking their platform’s own destruction.

He’s seen heroes die. Brave men and women that he’d been at odds with for years now fighting the same fight against an enemy that might just be the end of them all.

He sees the reasoning behind the bravado now. The smiles and unwavering voices as they assure the public that everything will be okay in the end. The work is exhausting, leaving him weary and ready to give it all up. But he can’t. So many people are depending on him, more people than have counted on him on his entire life. It isn’t just Mordengrad anymore, it’s the world he had already forsaken in pursuit of a greater power. 

And he’s learning. All that false hope isn’t just for the everyday citizen, it’s the default behavior within the group as well. A way to reassure one another that they’re in this together. It’s ridiculous and Ivan was loathe to participate in the beginning - why bother pretending when he could be a realist? But the longer he fights, the more he understands. Not every smile Legacy gives to the Freedom Five is genuine but the thought behind it is still there. 

They care, they all care far too much to give up now and now Ivan is one of them. Illuminating the way into each successive battle alongside his former nemesis. In any other situation he’d hate it, and a part of him still does.

The world used to be so simple. Every variable accounted for even when he tried to change the formula. He can’t theorize anything that happens these days. He’s tired to the bone, an ache in every muscle the longer that they continue fighting Oblivaeon. 

He wants it to be over with, one way or another. He’s tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of losing all these new people that he’s found himself caring for these days. Given the opportunity, he’d retire in an instant, get himself away from everything. But he can’t. Not until this is all over. 

So he keeps fighting, keeps going out into the field even though he hasn’t been in his best condition in a long time. The faster this ends, the faster he gets to make a quiet life for himself.

In victory or in death. Either way the peace will come.


	4. Triple Cross

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "And so, we have an accord. You always had such...vision." - Rainek Kel'voss, Burying the Blade #11

A man with ambition is a powerful one. More often than not, the man who desired the most was the one who came out the victor. 

It’s how it had always been in Ivan Romonat’s life. Beginning with the general that had started him on his path to the man he was today. Scarring him, damning his name to the history books only for him to turn around and reinvent himself into someone brilliant and more hungry for power than anyone who could ever cross his path.

Everyone underestimated him. He was human. He was powerless, confronting beings that would have little to no trouble ending his life. But he was intelligent enough to be useful as long as he was kept on a short leash - as was thought by countless beings seeking to make a deal.

Rainek Kel’voss is no different and it takes every ounce of his restraint not to laugh in the alien’s face. The scion thinks that he holds all the cards, isolating Ivan from the pack just to offer him an out. If the alien truly wanted to win, he would have killed him from the start.

Less fun for him, but a smarter play for the alien warlord to make. But he can’t hold the alien accountable. He knows what it’s like to be ambitious, biding his time until an opportunity to usurp the current leader has presented itself. The trouble with Rainek Kel’voss is how oblivious he is to the inevitable.

If he’d had any sense to look into some pathetic human’s history he would know that Ivan doesn’t ally himself with anyone. He doesn’t need anyone other than himself. His only other worry is for Mordengrad and its people, but he doesn’t rely on them at all. Their protection is important to him, but it isn’t even mentioned in what Kel’voss offers him. The alien knows nothing of making a good barter.

It would bring a smile to his face if he wasn’t forcing himself to play the coward. After all, he wasn’t anything except a human face to face with a far more superior being. He’s been bested.

The plan had formed in his mind the second he’d been brought before the alien. Putting it into motion would be all too easy if every encounter with the man went like this. Kel’voss is just as arrogant as ever, wanting to put Oblivaeon in his place after his own defeat. And he knows of Ivan’s own guile. Should anyone be able to outthink the titan, it would be him given the right tools - a simple human, he should be grateful for the opportunity to save his own hide. And he is, in his own way. The problem of surviving Oblivaeon had eluded him until now.

This would be the first step to the final solution. Handed to him by one of the being’s own minions because he entrusted power to a former warlord. Ivan would never have made the same mistake. He was hungrier. 

A mere human’s ambition outmatched anything wanted by Kel’voss or Oblivaeon, Ivan would see to that personally. All orchestrated by those who had sought out his aid on their own terms.

The Freedom Five were useful in their own ways but they couldn’t provide the protection from Oblivaeon that Kel’voss was offering. He’d work for the cosmic entity under the guise of a spy, betraying the heroes for his own gain. When in reality, he’d be working for Kel’voss, waiting for the opportunity to take down his current master. It wouldn’t come to that. The whole truth would be whatever lied in Ivan’s own interest. 

Heroes and scions alike would find themselves wondering whether or not Ivan would truly fight for their side, all without knowing that he was somewhat involved with the other party. 

The alien’s hand in his own is it’s own kind of victory. Given some time, he’d be flying under the radar in a world that he’d partially saved - thought to be dead by anyone he’d betrayed.  
He can almost see the funeral now. His death would sympathize his actions, a hero in his own right. And he could watch from afar with the knowledge that he’d bested everyone on the board.

Only then does he allow himself to smile.


	5. Timely Disruption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "What?! Arrogant mortal! Your existence is as doomed as all reality." - Oblivaeon, Freedom Five #800

Ivan Romonat dies today.

He’s known this from the moment Oblivaeon was sighted overhead by one of his sensor devices. Finally, their tenacity had paid off. Months of battling and coming out the victor against the being’s scions had proved that they were worth the trouble of Oblivaeon visiting himself for the final battle. There won’t be an opportunity to retreat this time around, Ivan has made his peace with that.

As always, Legacy…Paul led their group from the front lines. He can still see the man from the corner of his eye, discarded like a rag doll after Oblivaeon had tossed him aside. They’re all there, scattered like debris, the heroes that he’s come to know as friends. He’d known that it wouldn’t last so close to the end game as they were, but it was nice to pretend.

That the late nights with Meredith and her niece discussing plans to defeat the titan that had later turned into playful arguments on theoretical science in their pajamas would last long after the threat. His budding friendship with Ryan wouldn’t come to close, bonding over their shared views of the world. Teaching the stalwart Tyler Vance the inner workings of his more defensive devices so that they could work on them in tandem while drawing up blueprints for improvements that could be made to the Bunker suit and how it could turn into working late into the nights of a future where they’d put an end to the threat posed by Oblivaeon. The Wraith, ever protective of her identity in Earth’s final days, showing less distrust in him as the days passed. Even the man he’d aimed to kill for years was more friend than enemy now.

And here he was, fighting to defend them.

He’d been discounted from the start of the fight. Oblivaeon hadn’t considered him a threat from the moment he’d entered the battlefield - the decimated ruins of Megalopolis, devoid of its citizens that had been sequestered away into bunkers and mobile defense platforms for their own safety. Another man might find himself infuriated by the fact but Ivan only feels a sick sense of glee. Oblivaeon would remember him after the deed was done - taken down by a mere mortal.

Energy coalesces around his prosthetic hand as it elongates and sharpens itself into a wicked looking blade, his steps soft as he approaches the being from behind. It would come down to this moment in the history books that would be written. The moment when Ivan Grigori Romonat crept up behind Oblivaeon with a blade. The tool that had carried him through so many multiverses in the past, had yet to let him down like so many of his inventions and schemes.

The blade sinks through flesh just as easily as it would human flesh, eliciting a pained groan from the greatest threat that he’d come face to face with in all his life. Oblivaeon spits his threats and tears himself off the blade, leaving behind a trail of viscera that brings a crazed smile to Ivan’s face. Today will be his last day on this forsaken planet as far as anyone else is concerned. He won’t be remembered as a scientist or madman, he’ll be remembered as a hero. Memorialized alongside the dead before him as someone who fought the good fight until his untimely demise.

“You won’t be anything after I’m through with you. Dust, intermingled with that of your universe.”

“I will. Now, Paul!”

There’d been a plan from the beginning. Ivan was a strategist through and through, he’d known that he wouldn’t present as a threat in battle from the moment that the scions regarded him as little more than a minor nuisance. And Ivan could work with that. His sacrifice would give Paul and the others the time they needed for one last all-out attack, a sacrifice he was more than willing to make now that he cared about this group of insufferable heroes.

He’s still smiling when the hand on his neck tightens, savoring the final glance he has of the Freedom Five dragging themselves to their feet for their final assault. He won’t live to know whether or not the attack was a successful one, but it’s almost better that way. There won’t be a world to live in should they fail.

He isn’t conscious when the remains of the Bunker suit, crackling with electricity picks up his body and holds it close as the remainder of the Freedom Five leave the battle field. The day has been won, finally won after losses that they won’t be able to comprehend for years to come. Meredith is the first to reach them, checking for his pulse and shouting for someone to call in one the repair nanites that Ivan had said would be nearby during the fight. He’d neglected to tell them that they were programmed to stabilize the injuries they received before they would make their attack. There would be no available units to repair the damage done to his own body.

There are kind words that he isn’t present for, tears for a man that had spent the last several months redeeming himself - even though he hadn’t met to. He’d fought for his own reasons in the beginning but he’d formed a connection with a team that he’d once called his greatest enemies, and that wouldn’t be forgotten for a long time. 

As per his final wishes, his body is returned to Mordengrad for the funeral, to be buried amongst his grieving people. But there are other attendees. Civilian refugees and heroes, the latter surprised at the care shown by a man they were originally worried be alone in his passing. Instead, Ivan Romonat is surrounded by loved ones.

Even those too anxious to join the crowds, watching the ceremony from the far hill in the cemetery as Paul Parsons delivers a touching eulogy.


	6. "Consider the Price of Defeat!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "With all due respect, Mr. Parsons, sir, he has a point. Let's hear him out." - Bunker, Freedom Five Annual #30

“I’ve got Baron Blade in my sights.”

“Any reading on what he might be up to Wraith?”

Silence over the comms. 

“Not sure Parsons, looks like he’s gearing up for a speech.” 

“Yeah, what else is new?”

“A much larger threat that I’d rather be dealing with.”

“Thanks for the input Ryan.”

“You’re welcome.”

Maia and Ryan come to a halt in front of the scientist, waiting for the other members of the Freedom Five to catch up. There’s no sign of any of his robots but they’ve been duped into thinking the same before. Too much is at stake now to be sidetracked by whatever he’s come up with. 

“What is it this time Blade?” Ryan drawls, frost curling up the arms of his suit and breaking the black and blue up with white. Blade had taken to focusing a good brunt of his attacks into getting past what protection the cyrosuit offered to render him almost dead. He wasn’t looking for a repeat. “It’s not night yet so I doubt it’s another lunar beam.”

Meredith skids to a halt between the two, just in time to witness the strangest action that they’ve seen Baron Blade taken during an encounter. The man actually holds his hands up in surrender, a smirk pulling up the corners of his mouth - no doubt enjoying their initial shock.

“Coming in with Bunker, ETA in five minutes. What’s Blade’s status?”

“I…think he’s surrendering Parsons.”

“Can you repeat that for me please Wraith?”

“No bots in sight and it looks like he’s surrendering.”

“…Stay vigilant. It could be a trap.”

The comms crackle to life, a new voice joining the others. “Would you be so kind as to hurry along your arrival Legacy? My time is important.”

Three pairs of eyes widen with surprise. Meredith and Maia had spent countless hours designing communicators that would be near impossible to hack into their frequency. Looked like Blade had done the impossible.

“We’ve got bigger problems to face Blade, would you move this along?”

“All in due time Wraith, though I appreciate the level of patience that you’ve honed within yourself.”

The visor between Ryan and the rest of the world is a gift now, hiding the small smile that forms. Occasionally Blade had a fairly good comment to make and as long as it wasn’t directed towards Ryan or accompanied by a breach in his suit, he was more than willing to entertain the banter while they waited for Bunker and Legacy to arrive.  
Apparently Maia wasn’t as willing today. “Hilarious. How would you appreciate a nice holding cell for the next couple of weeks?”

“As nice as that would be, I think you’d come to appreciate it less as time progressed. Especially when I’m offering to lend a hand during these troubled times.”

“Troubled times?”

“I’ve seen the same readings as you have, Dr. Stintson. Something is coming whether we like it or not. I’d like to offer my aid until the matter has been resolved. A truce if you will.”

There’s a heavy thud as Legacy sets Bunker onto the ground, taking the lead and leveling Baron Blade with a distrustful look. “How do we know we can trust you?”

“Is this not my world as well? As much as I enjoy giving your little group the run around, I’d much prefer to see another day to do so, even if it means working with you for the time being. We could do great things together.”

Silence ripples through the group, Baron Blade cocking his head to the side to watch them with interest. He’d be working against the threat he’d been getting readings on either way, he would just have access to more resources if he could ally himself with the group of heroes. 

“My intentions are pure, you have my word. I would prefer to work alongside you than face defeat. Wouldn’t you?”


	7. Orbital Death-Laser

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "You all might want to step back. Further. Quite a bit further." - Luminary, Freedom Five #799

Evacuating civilians from a battlefield wasn’t always the easiest job in the world. They were often panic-stricken and worried about little things. Did an oven being left on really matter when there was a possibility that their apartment would collapse with them inside if they continued to linger? The process works on Ivan’s last nerve the longer he works alongside the Freedom Five. Suddenly all the times that they’d hurried through their work and had been a little too rough in their capture makes an eerie amount of sense. If he could pick up the pace and apprehend his foes before they could cause any substantial damage and the need to remove civilians, he’d take whatever opportunity he could.

Clearing the area of heroes that knew this should have been far easier than it was turning out to be. Every time that he called someone to retreat, they’d be back in the next few moments to rejoin the fray. And while he commends their dedication to the cause, it’s extremely irksome when his orbital death-laser is circling overhead in the atmosphere on a countdown.

“Legacy…Paul! Could you please refrain from engaging with the enemy right now? While I’d love to be the end of you, I would rather it not be an accident,” he calls over the comms, gritting his teeth as he watches from a rooftop the next block over. 

This had been the third time in just as many minutes that he’d made a similar request for their fearless, foolhardy leader had returned to the fight for another round. And he’d asked the same of the other Freedom Five as well with varying results.

The Wraith had been kind enough to stick to her retreat, lingering on a rooftop closer to Ivan than the actual fight while taking potshots with her long range gadgets. Ryan had been more than willing to back away from the scion, steering clear of their overheated opponent before anymore damage could be done to his suit. But they were the only two whose decisions Ivan could wholly approve of. Meredith kept zipping in and out of the area to deliver a flurry of blows. He could excuse it given her speed, but if her timing was off by even a second she would find herself on the other end of one of his devices. And Tyler Vance had yet to make a retreat even once, staying behind to back up Legacy who in turn kept returning to aid Bunker.

Idiots, the both of them.

Ivan grips the edge of the rooftop and snarls when he’s ignored again. If they died today it would devastate the community. Casualties had been kept to a minimum thus far but the death of two of the world’s most prominent heroes would likely spell disaster for moral and inspire a lack of trust in Ivan’s intentions if their deaths were caused by one of his more deadly devices. They’d lose more than Paul and Tyler, they’d lose the world.

There’s a huff over the comms courtesy of Wraith, finally showing something other than disdain for his calls in the field. Amusement was one step up from distrust. He doesn’t deign to respond, casting his attention to the readout provided by his goggles. There’s little time left before the laser was fully powered, set to fire on the set coordinates as soon as it was ready.

He only has a few options and there’s only one that would get Legacy and Bunker out of the way. 

“Wraith, your grappling hook, if you wouldn’t mind.”

In the beginning of their partnership, the request would have meant an empty silence or a disbelieving scoff. Now, Ivan can only grin as the gadget is tossed in his direction. He aims, concentrating on the shot he’s about to make rather than the danger he’s about to willingly put himself in, and fires - watching as the hook snakes around a streetlight and pulls taut. Decision made, Ivan hoists himself onto the ledge and jumps.

“Incoming, I’d like a retrieval in the place of being spattered across the pavement.” He comments as his destination gets closer and closer. He hadn’t had the time to calculate a favorable place to land, but he was counting on the lack of foresight to aid in his current plan. After all, he wasn’t gifted with superhuman resilience or currently encased in a piece of machinery made to withstand a war zone. 

It pays off considerably. Ivan lets go of the gadget at the peak of his arc and watches with a sick sort of glee as the attention goes from fighting the scion to his inevitable fall. Legacy is faster than Bunker, unhindered by the weight of heavy metal, swooping by to catch him at least thirty feet above the pavement - but even Vance has started over to check that their ally hasn’t managed to injure himself in what might be the most reckless stunt he’s pulled to date.

“My hero,” Ivan croons, placing a hand over his heart and swooning before he lifts his head and barks out a laugh. The comms are having a hard time keeping up with the conversation that’s sparked to life since his leap of faith.

“- owes me a new grappling hook if he wants to leave it there.”

“Is he trying to kill himself?”

“What? What happened? I stopped for a breather.”

Legacy himself looks absolutely bewildered as to why Ivan might do something so dangerous. As if he would have jumped without a plan in mind.

“Lieutenant Vance, if you would be so kind as to move a few feet north of your current position. Closer to Legacy and I.”

“Uh…sure, yeah, but what about the sci-“

Bunker’s back is turned when the air is filled with a humming resonance that echoes down the empty streets and reaches its climax with a red flash that incinerates the surrounding area around the unlucky scion that had yet to pursue the heroes it had been fighting previously.

“You’re welcome.”


	8. Terralunar Translocator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "That madman...he's actually done it. That's a piece of the moon!" - Tachyon, Freedom Five #799

It’d be a lie to say that Tachyon wasn’t impressed by Ivan’s tenacity.

Since the beginning of their new found truce, Ivan wouldn’t let go of the idea that bringing the moon down on Oblivaeon was a good idea. Originally, the speedster had thought that her fellow scientist was just joking around. She would always appreciate a good callback, it was the highest form of humor.

Thing was, Ivan wasn’t joking.

It’d taken upwards of a week to convince Ivan that pulling the moon into Earth’s orbit just for a single hit against their greatest foe yet might be a good idea but it wouldn’t be worth it in the end with all the collateral damage it would cause. And even then she still found blueprints and calculations related to the harebrained scheme in the lab. 

Sure, all his attention was still devoted to the cause and he didn’t seem distracted by his side project that likely wouldn’t even come up.

Until it does.

Meredith blinks in surprise at the hole that’s opened up above the titan and the hulking chunk of rock about to hurtle towards his head. There’s a general call of confusion over their communicators over what the source of the rock could be and who’s responsible but Meredith has no doubts. Ivan didn’t bring the whole moon but he brought a piece of it to the fight - and the same realization is being made across the comms once Ivan starts cackling like the madman he is.

It’s all she can do to launch herself from the site before the chunk can reach its target at a velocity that even she envies, crumbling into smaller pieces around Oblivaeon as he’s brought into a hunch.

“Now! Now!” Ivan orders from his vantage point on a rooftop surrounded by his backlash generators and other mechanical contraptions meant to keep his perch as safe as possible. “Hit him with all that you have!”

“You’re insane, you know that?” She laughs, gearing up for a light speed barrage at the same time that the rest of the heroes participating in the final fight have started to advance on their foe. 

He does. She knows that he does because his only response is to laugh harder as the hole that had opened up above the titan closes up, the only evidence that his plan had worked the remains of the chunk of rock that had come through. Meredith has the time to think about the move while she runs, the rest of the world slowing down around her. He’d done it, actually done it. They’d found the plans before, seen the results of his work when it was half completed, but she never would have guessed that his same plan for earthly destruction could be used for good. Ivan had somehow managed to translocate a piece of the moon that was large enough to serve his purposes but small enough to minimize damage to the area. 

He’d really turned it around, whether they won this fight or not. Meredith chances a glance at the rooftop before she reaches her target, pleasantly surprised that Ivan’s eyes follow her from behind the red tint of his goggles. Right, they’d modified the specs on the goggles so that he’d be able to keep up with his powered peers. 

“Excellent work Baron Romonat.”


	9. All According to Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Enough of your foolish toys-- AARGH!" - Kaargra Warfang, Freedom Five #713

“Show yourself, coward.”

There have been a great many times that Ivan had regretted his change of heart. Namely when he finds himself having protective thoughts about the members of the Freedom Five. With all the commotion, there haven’t been many times for Ivan to regret his latest endeavor solely for his own safety.

Now is one of those times.

He’d never been highly regarded amongst the other villains that often plagued the Earth. He was known for his intelligence but his success rate was….less than favorable, making him a poor choice as an ally even if he weren’t known as a loner. But he had worked with others from time to time when their goals could be modified to suit his own purposes in the long run. So having a change of heart even in the face of a world ending event was frowned upon.

Luck would have it that the location Warfang had chosen to enact her revenge would his home in Mordengrad. He’d noticed her intrusion while doing maintenance on on his hand, one of his surveillance bots notifying him of an intruder making their way through the front entrance - grainy video clueing him in as to the identity of his uninvited guest of honor.

There will be no Blade Battalion soldiers to stop her stride through the halls, all troops now responsible for keeping the safety of their citizens their number one priority. Ivan could take care of himself, not that he was expecting to take care of anything. 

And he still wasn’t. 

The bots that were still programmed to patrol the halls of the castle would take care of Warfang before she could reach the laboratory. If that fell through…he know had a feed straight to the Freedom Tower that he could send a distress signal to. Even the thought makes Ivan scoff, biting back a sharp bark of laughter. A distress signal to Freedom Tower? He never would have thought that he lived to see the day. 

Rather than entertain that line of thought any longer than he has to, Ivan turns his attention to the security feeds following the leader of the Bloodsworn Coliseum through the halls of his home. She’s clearly furious, something that amuses Ivan to no end. Clearly their little truce that had formed during his short stint had reached its untimely end. No matter, for better or worse he wouldn’t need her aid in the coming battles when the probability of his own demise was climbing ever higher.

Setting down his tools, Ivan leans over and presses a button connected to the intercom system that had recently been installed. “You’ve caught me at a poor time, I happen to be busy at the moment. If you wouldn’t mind to come back later that would be delightful.”

“Unlikely, human. I’ve come for your blood.”

“Yes, yes. I would think less of you if you weren’t. It pays to be predictable.”

Another press of a button and a small unit of defense bots have been deployed to Warfang’s current location within the castle. They’re flimsy things that would take little effort on the battle master’s part to destroy, but that’s all a part of Ivan’s intent. His recent work with the backlash generators had set him on a course to outfit the majority of his bots with their own defense mechanisms that would activate only once the bot was destroyed. And with his modus operandi when it came to devices being a known factor by anyone who knew the name Ivan Romonat, any plans that he had would be followed through to the letter. If you wanted to get to the man you had to get through his machines, and if there were counterattack protocols and other nasty traps hidden in their workings, it would be more trouble than it was worth to get past his defenses.

So he’s ecstatic when Warfang sets to ripping apart his defense drones, tearing apart their innermost workings in her fury. The noxious green gas that permeates through the hallways at their destruction is the the visual cue he needed to see that his first test run of the latest defenses in the castle are up to code, soon followed by the alien woman dropping to the floor in an unconscious heap. 

Perfect.


	10. Disposable Defender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Everything has a grand purpose. For some, that purpose is to be destroyed for the cause!" - Luminary, Mystery Comics #515

The debate on mechanical sentience has been going on for weeks now, with Ivan finding himself on the same side as Dr. Meredith Stintson, arguing against the indomitable Devra Caspit. 

The entire thing had started when Devra had walked in on the two of them going over his latest schematics for a bot whose inner workings would carry extra parts that could be fashioned into other devices should they be destroyed, likely by his own hand. The younger woman had gone into an absolute fit regarding his treatment of the devices. For whatever reason, she was surprised that his attitude towards his creations hadn’t changed since the last time that they had called one another enemies.

“How could you?” She states, nose scrunched up with anger as she slides her hand down the cool exterior of one of her latest creations, full of sharp metallic teeth and dyed a bright pink. “They have a life, you know. How could you just be okay with destroying them like that?”

Ivan bites his tongue when he catches Meredith rolling her eyes, he’s learned in the past several days that he shouldn’t engage Devra in these arguments when there’s work to be done. Thing is, it’s a really tempting to do. It isn’t all that difficult to multitask and talk while he worked alongside Meredith. 

“Don’t.”

“But it’ll be so much fun.”

Meredith pinches the bridge of her nose, knowing that once Ivan’s made up his mind to go head to head with her niece. There’s a bottle of Aspirin stowed away in her desk drawer for just the occasion. They’d be at it for hours, neither giving up any ground or making any steps towards a compromise. She was more aligned with Ivan’s point but she wasn’t about to join the argument when she’d made her stand to back out of the fight nearly three days ago. “Don’t mess up the work on that processor.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Ivan raises a brow, turning on his heel with his work still in the palm of his hand, giving Devra the benefit of facing towards her while still keeping an eye on his current job. “Now is this a review from last week or do you have any new points, Ms. Caspit?”

“I just don’t get how you could think they don’t matter.”

“A review then,” he answers for himself. “Tell me, do your creations not get destroyed on the field of battle?”

Devra bites the inside of her cheek, looking at the miniature dinosaur in her arms. “Yeah…they do. But I always repair them! And they aren’t just made to be destroyed!”

“I wouldn’t say that is true. Your bee bots, for instance.”

“Well…I mean…yeah, but that’s different! I still repair them to be them. They’re always bee bots, not repurposed to whatever it is you’ve decided to do with these little guys.”

Ivan hums in thought. It was certainly a point in her favor, loathe as he was to admit it. His point still stood however. He wasn’t a technopath like Devra, and the lives of his creations weren’t as impactful as her own. They hardly had what Ivan would call lives in the first place. He didn’t care for them in the same way that Devra did her own, his connection was with his people in Mordengrad and his devices served the purpose of protecting them or aiding him in his endeavors. 

“I’ve made a purpose for them. It’s no different than the purpose that any of my other devices have. Their purpose is to be destroyed in the line of battle when I have need of another device.”

“Why not just make more models of those other devices then?”

“There’s no way to know what devices I’ll need and when. This is better preparation in the long run,” he explains with a shrug. “Their parts will be useful for quick builds in the heat of the moment.”

He could use machines differently than he could people. Actual human beings couldn’t be used and manipulated in the same way that a bot could be used to serve his purposes with no complaint. And the humans that he could use were the people he had sworn to protect from outside forces. He could never ask them to sacrifice more than they were willing to give and even then he held back in his requests so that they wouldn’t die in his name for no reason.

The argument for the day has come to its end, with Devra having nothing more to say in her irritation. She storms off, leaving behind her aptly named Mr. Chomps without another word. Ivan’s more than happy that their discussion has been cut short for the day, paying no notice to the bot sneaking up behind him with teeth aimed at his ankles.

An incoming message dings on one of the holographic screens in front of him and Ivan furrows his brow when he sees that the sender is Devra.

“Always needs to have the last word I suppose… What does this say? Viva la robotalution? What could that possible me-OW!”


	11. Regression Turret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Bah, that formula was far too unstable. This new experimental mixture is just the thing!” - Luminary, Freedom Five #753

The regression serum had been a staple in many of Ivan’s schemes. His way of leveling the playing field in a world where he found himself going up against powered men and women nearly every day. He was an inventor sure, but his interest and knowledge had first and foremost had lied in the base sciences. 

He’d hypothesized that whether a hero’s powers were the product of a mishap in a lab or founded in their genetics, it was completely possible that the process could be reversed. Although his first ideas had been based in the theory that he could engineer his own set of powers, and when that failed…he’d moved on to taking away what was already on the playing field rather than continue to try and fail at adding another piece.

And even then, the first batches of the regression serum had their own problems. Amplifying his target’s powers. Which, in the beginning, he thought he could work with if it became too much for them and overloaded their senses - it never quite worked out that way however. The times that it filled its intended purposes, it wouldn’t last long enough for his liking. 

The number of iterations that he’s gone through astounds the Freedom Five when he shows them his data, intent on repurposing the serum to use against the more villainous side now that he’s had a change of heart. 

“His level of dedication is commendable,” Ryan comments as they shuffle out of the lab on one of the lower levels that Tachyon had given Ivan access to so he wouldn’t have to travel back and forth between the tower and his personal labs in Mordengrad.

Maia hums her agreement. She’s already filed the information away to go over in a future threat assessment if Ivan still decided to play the hero after Oblivaeon’s defeat. Choosing to remain the optimist that they would come out victorious was one thing, but blindly trusting Ivan once everything was said and done would be a mistake on her part that she wasn’t planning on making. She and Tyler were both powerless and would remain unaffected by the serum should he decide to utilize it within the building, but Maia would keep a watchful eye on the man anyway.

“I can understand the dedication.” Meredith muses. “It’s the exuberance that I find…worrying? I mean, he’s on our side now and all but it’s been what…nearly ten years of fighting Baron Blade and he still hasn’t figured out the correct formula? Even I would have given up by now.”

Paul glances back over his shoulder to watch Ivan begin to weld the pieces of his latest project together. Something…large enough to pose a threat and inject the newest batch of the serum into the scions they’d be facing up against. 

“He’s got a lot of motivation, I’ll give him that. Not just anyone would be willing to work with such dangerous chemicals on a day to day basis just for the satisfaction of saying that he’d completed his work.”

Tyler scoffs, loud enough that Ivan lifts his gaze for the briefest of moments before the elevator doors between him and the rest of the Freedom Five closes. “He wants a little more than satisfaction, Paul. Most of that work was dated years before the first scion sighting. His major goal with the serum has been to render you powerless enough to put you down for good.”

“I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt. He has the workings of a good man in him.”

Meredith raises a brow, sharing a sidelong glance with the team’s designated sleuth. “Are you sure about that?”

“I’m not saying that we can just brush aside everything that he’s done,” Paul answers. “All the pain that he’s caused. But if he didn’t care, he wouldn’t be here now.”

Ryan can’t find it in himself to argue. Parsons isn’t wrong. One of them could say that the mad scientist was only fighting for Mordengrad, but the elevator is silent. The man was so fiercely protective of his country and its people that if he truly wanted to, he would have found a way to protect Mordengrad from the inevitable slaughter. There had been several attempts on his life from outside forces unrelated to Ivan’s career as a villain, offering up ultimatums that would leave his country decimated if he didn’t comply - and he’d never once allowed the situation to reach that climax, without compromising even the once.

So…theoretically, a part of Ivan that wasn’t cooking up a serum that could render nearly every hero on the planet and off powerless would have to care given his presence. And that would just have to count for something.


End file.
